


in the dark of space

by hotchsflower



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, angst kinda, basically ur from earth but you end up on mandos ship and oops youre already in love, five chapters are coming, holy shiz my dudes this is a lot, im cringe but this fic is not, this is a wild ride my dudes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:08:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23113708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotchsflower/pseuds/hotchsflower
Summary: sometimes, not even galaxies can keep soulmates apart(i.e., you're from earth, and you somehow find yourself in a spaceship with a steampunk knight and baby gremlin)find also on my tumblr, @vintagecaptainspidey (i post chapters there first)
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader, The Mandalorian/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi and welcome to the disaster i have named in the dark of space. i don't update the chapters that often because i'm slow but i'm almost halfway through writing like, the entire thing. i promise to try my hardest and because of spring break and probably c o r o n a v i r u s i likely have a lot of time on my hands, coming up.   
> okay thank you and leave comments?? i'm desperate hehe

You blink your eyes open, barely being able to see for a few moments. You don’t recognize your surroundings (which include a very small and dark room that you can barely decipher), and start to freak. You’ve never had a one night stand before, is that what this was? No, no, you weren’t drunk, you would remember? Shit, you must have been kidnapped! Oh no, oh no. You try to move, but you realize you’re not even lying down- you’re tied to a chair.  
“No no no, this can’t be fucking happening to me,” you mutter, throwing your head back, tears coming to the surface. A man appears in the doorway of the room, and you squint, realizing he’s wearing full body armor and a strange helmet. Behind him is some sort of… puppet.  
“Is this some sort of prank?” you ask him, but he moves closer.  
“Who are you?” the man in the clunky armor asks you. You close your eyes, shaking your head. When you open them, he’s still there, the green puppet behind him moving hesitantly.  
“Who am I? You’re the one who kidnapped me!” you scream wildly. You struggle, then notice the gun in his belt. “Fuck, are you mafia? Did I accidentally get in trouble with the mob? Please, I don’t have anything,” you beg, realizing you sound pretty pathetic, but you feel pretty pathetic, goddamnit.  
The man tilts his head, but repeats, “Who are you?” The little green puppet then begins to move toward you, and you shriek, realizing it’s not a puppet, but sentient.  
“Oh, god, what did Jessica put in those brownies?” you mutter. “Please tell me this is a dream. A horrible, horrible dream where I’m kidnapped by a steampunk knight and an alien baby.”  
The man tilts his head in the other direction, shifting his weight around. “I haven’t kidnapped you. This isn’t a gang. You’re a stowaway.”  
“A stowaway?” you yell. “Are we on a boat? Fuck. This is bad. This is very, very bad.” You shake your head, squeezing your eyes shut. “Please, I swear I’m not. I don’t know how I got here. The last thing I remember is walking to my friend Jessica’s house on Saturday. I’m not a stowaway, I don’t know how I got here! You must have kidnapped me! Please, don’t hurt me.” The tears are hot against your face and you think you may legitimately throw up. You can barely breathe.  
The man must sense your panic, and something in him changes. The little green thing walks toward you, and the man hesitates, then sighs. The little creature pulls on your leg, and if you weren’t so terrified, you would find it kind of adorable.  
“Calm down,” he says, walking toward you. “I haven’t kidnapped you. I found you in the cockpit and assumed you had snuck aboard and knocked yourself out.”  
“Wait, cockpit? Are we on a plane? Where are we?” you ask, struggling against the ropes.  
“Not a plane, it’s a Razor Crest. On our way to Sorgan,” he says. You shake your head, the tears coming again.  
“What’s Sorgan? Is that a country?”  
“You’ve never heard of it? It’s a planet.”  
You blink, waiting for the punchline. It doesn’t come. “A planet? Like, in outer space? Like, we’re in space right now?” You look at the green child at your feet, feeling yourself tremble. The man picks him up.  
“You don’t get around much, do you?” he asks. You roll your eyes.  
“Not in space. I’m not an astronaut.”  
He tilts his head to the side. “What planet are you from?”  
You huff out a laugh. “Earth. Milky Way Galaxy. I suppose we must be in a different galaxy, there aren’t other planets capable of supporting life in mine.”  
“That’s strange. And you don’t remember how you got here? What is the last thing you remember?”  
You’re silent, for a moment. “I was getting on the subway. The car was empty, I remember, which was strange, because it was rush hour. I dunno. Actually… I… I think there was an older woman sitting across from me, and that’s it. She may have said something right as we started moving, but then it all went black and now I’m here.”  
The man sets down the child and moves toward you, and you’re suddenly very afraid he’s going to eat you. You realize that he’s probably a serial killer and that was the whole point of all of this.  
But, instead, he begins to untie you. Oh.  
The man moves away from you and you stand, unsure whether or not to follow him. But, you do. The child coos up at you, so you hesitantly pick him up. He smiles, and it’s the kind of smile that would make anyone drop everything to protect him.  
“I’ve never heard of Earth. It’s not on any star maps,” the man says after a brief time. You nod. “You’re right, we’re probably from different galaxies. What’s your name?”  
You sigh. “I’m Y/n. Y/n Y/L/n.”  
“Well, nice to meet you, Y/n.”  
“Well, don’t you have a name?” You wait a moment, and he doesn’t answer, but instead climbs a ladder, going who knows where. You, of course, follow, carrying the child with you, and he shows you into a room. You realize you’re in the front of the ship, nearly dropping the child when you see the stars.  
“Oh my gods,” you say, rushing forward. “I’ve… I’ve never seen so many stars. Not even when we went to Wyoming.”  
The man watches with quiet amazement as you hold the child closer to you, turning him so he can see the stars too, even if you knew he had already seen them.  
“This is your view everyday?” you ask him, turning to him, and he hates himself for noticing this, but you’re gorgeous.  
He coughs, nodding. “Yes.”  
You turn back to the sky. “I always wished I could live in the stars as a child. I always felt like I didn’t belong, and everyone belongs in the stars. My best friend in elementary, Jane, used to call me ‘moon girl.’” You smile a little at the memory, and, if everyone on Earth is like you, the man wishes he could live there forever.  
“What’s your family like? Will they be worried that you’re gone?”  
You turn towards him, then, looking at the ground. “No one will miss me.” You sigh, quietly, shaking your head. The man tilts his head, and you almost laugh. “I don’t have a family. I never knew my father and had no intention of meeting him,” you say, crossing your arms, trying to bite back the harsh tone in your voice, but salt drips in every word. “My mother, oh, how she despised me. She was a drunk. And I don’t have any friends anymore. Jessica, maybe, but she and I never really go out, we just talk at work.” You think you’re probably crying, but at this point, what does it matter?  
He’s silent, and you think you’ve upset him.  
“Sorry. Depressing backstory. I know.” You pause. “Yours is probably worse. You know. Cause you and your son are on the run. Is he adopted? It’s none of my business, I’m sorry,” you ramble, like you always do in uncomfortable and nerve-racking situations.  
“You apologize a lot. You don’t have to apologize. You aren’t in control of the things that happen around you,” he says, wiping one of the tears that lingered on your cheek away. “He’s not my son. He’s… it’s a long story. Are you hungry?”  
“Um,” you say, then nod. “What’s your story?” you ask. “I told you mine, and since we’re sorta in this situation together, we might as well know each other. We clearly have very different lives.”  
He chuckles, almost. “Well. I’m a Mandalorian,” he says. You blink at him, and he nods, sitting in one of the seats, and you sit in the other one. “Which doesn’t help you comprehend at all, I’m sure, but there’s too much history for me to give it to you all.”  
You nod. “How do you speak English?” you ask, suddenly.  
He tilts his head, then says, “You mean Galactic Standard?”  
You shake your head. “English, that’s what it’s called on Earth.” You pause. “Interesting…”  
“What?” he asks.  
You move forward, a bit, letting the child jump onto the ground as you slowly pace. “You can trace back where English came from. It’s highly suspected to be influenced by romance languages, French, Italian, Spanish, for example, which all came from Latin.”  
The Mandalorian shrugs. “I’m not following.”  
“What I mean is that English can be tracked all throughout Earth. We pretty much know where it came from. I don’t know what your ‘Galactic Standard’ is, but it’s the same as English. Otherwise you and I wouldn’t be standing here, right?”  
Silence. “Right?”  
“What I’m saying is that our galaxies must have had some sort of… connection! In the past. If we can find out who it was, we can find out who brought me here, or how I got here.”  
The Mandalorian nods. “I think I might know where we should go. We have to stop in Sorgan, but after that, we’ll go. Also, I found a bag in the other room, I assume it’s yours. It’s just clothing and a strange rectangular device.”  
You let out a half laugh, half cough. “That’s called a cell phone. It’s an earth thing. Thank you,” you say, and the Mandalorian just nods.  
~~~oOo~~~  
“Stay in the ship,” he says, to both you and the child.  
“But I’ve never been on another planet!” you exclaim, biting your lip. He just shakes his head and begins to leave. The child doesn’t listen and follows him, so you do too. He looks down at the child, then up at the eager expression on your face, and he sighs. “What the hell, come on,” he mutters, and you squeal.  
You pick up the child so that he doesn’t get stepped on, grab onto the Mandalorian’s cape, and follow him. And, naturally, you end up in a bar. You keep the child on your lap, and he looks over the side of the table curiously. The Mandalorian doesn’t talk to you, much, but you aren’t listening anyway. You survey the room, the different types of creatures fascinating. And they’re all so used to it. It’s truly incredible.  
“Can I get you folks anything?” a woman says, and you smile up at her.  
“Maybe something for the little one?” you ask the Mandalorian, and he nods, telling the woman something before asking a question.  
“That woman over there, how long has she been here?” he asks, passing over what appears as little coins to the woman.  
“I’ve seen her here the past week,” she responds before heading off.  
“I’ll be back, stay here,” the Mandalorian says to you, standing and following the woman as she leaves.  
“Ah, okay-” you stutter. You look around the room a few more seconds, then chase after the man.  
You set down the kid as you see him rolling around, in a fight with the woman. “Typical,” you mutter under your breath. You take a step back, debating going back into the bar. But the woman catches sight of you, and she laughs as she and The Mandalorian get up.  
“Wow, Mando, do you have a girlfriend? Isn’t that like, against your code?”  
You gasp, out of shock from both statements, but move forward nonetheless, standing slightly behind him, because normal people don’t start conversation after fights. Then again, you’re on another planet, so there is that.  
“Y/n, take the kid and go back to the ship, okay?” you nod, then rush away, suddenly a little terrified.  
You’re in space. On a different planet. With a stranger. An alien child in your arms. How much do you know about the Mandalorian?  
You shake your head, trying to push the thoughts out of your mind. You just have to get back to the ship, and the Mandalorian will come back, and scary alien creatures won’t eat you in your sleep.  
It’s actually half an hour before he gets back, and soon enough it’s dark out.  
“This planet’s taken, it seems,” the Mandalorian says, and you furrow your brows.  
“Taken? What do you mean, I thought you had business here?” you say, and he shakes his head.  
“I wanted to lay low for a few months. Where I’m taking you, that’s high profile. There’s still a lot you have to learn about this galaxy,” he says, and you nod.  
“I guess. Oh, and, is your name Mando? That woman called you Mando. Did you know her? Why were you fighting?” you ask, sitting on the ramp as the Mandalorian makes some last minute repairs to the ship. The child crawls over and you let it sit on your lap, smiling at it a little.  
“She’s an ex shock trooper. In this galaxy, that’s kind of dangerous. I thought she was a mercenary, but she’s trying to escape the same people,” he pauses, sighs, then says, “the same people I’m trying to escape. We can’t both be here and not draw attention to ourselves.” He thinks, for a moment, and is about say something else when you hear some guys approaching you from the woods. The Mandalorian turns around, blaster raised, and you push the child behind you.  
“Hey!” a guy calls, and you slowly come to realize they probably aren’t threats.  
“Hey, you’re a Mandalorian, right?” the other one says, and you turn to look at the Mandalorian.  
“Who’s asking?” he responds.  
“We really need your help. We’re from a farm. Raiders attacked last night, and they’ll keep coming back, unless you help us stop them.”  
The Mandalorian doesn’t say anything, so the other guy speaks up. “We have credits, we’ll pay.”  
You give a pointed look to the Mandalorian, wondering if he’s thinking what you are.  
He isn’t. “I can’t help you,” he says, putting his blaster away.  
“Please! We traveled all day from the village to get here-”  
The Mandalorian cuts him off. “You’ll provide shelter?”  
The guys nod, then he says. “Okay, but give me the credits.” He turns to you. “I’ll be back, stay here with them.” You nod, gathering the child in your arms and slipping back into the ship until he comes back.  
~~~oOo~~~  
So, you’re staying in a village, now. Great.  
It’s actually not all that bad, you decide. You have a shelter, you’re surrounded by people, nice, good people, and you’re learning about the galaxy. It feels nice, actually, and you think the Mandalorian would be enjoying himself, too, if he weren’t so hellbent on constantly brooding.  
Cara sits beside you as you watch some of the children, playing around. “So, if you aren’t the Mandalorian’s girlfriend, how did you end up with him? You certainly are the strangest looking girl I’ve ever met.”  
You sigh, remembering the fact that you’re dressed in skinny jeans and a pink t-shirt, and everyone else is wearing leather something or other.  
“It’s kind of a long story.”  
Cara nods and stands, then says, “Tell me after we take care of this villages little issue, then.” She walks away, then, as the Mandalorian appears beside you.  
“I want you to stay here and watch the kid, okay?” he says, and you nod as you see the kid waddle over to you.  
“Yeah, okay.” Cara and the Mandalorian go scotting, then, so you gather the kid in your arms and bring him into the shelter Omera provided you, setting him on the ground as you go through your bag.  
“Hey, I wanna show you something,” you say to the kid, pulling out your cell phone and going to your music library, the only thing that is usable in space. You play for the kid your favorite song, sitting down across from him. You mouth along the lyrics as you watch the kid smile and giggle, moving his arms around. You hold his hands, helping him do a little dance to the song, smiling yourself.  
You go through two full albums worth of music before the Mandalorian and Cara return, and they don’t even come to pull you into the crowd of people. After they decide to help the people, the Mandalorian catches you and the kid, and he makes himself as quiet as possible.  
You’re such a good person, he realizes. And you’re so positive, and willing, and you aren’t letting the fact that you’re on another planet get you down, and he absolutely admires you for that. You’re also absolutely breathtaking, which makes his life a helluva lot harder…  
“Oh, Mando,” you say, turning off you music. “So, what’s the story?”  
He coughs, crossing his arms. “Uh, Cara and I are going to set a trap and train these people to take on the raiders.”  
“Can I help?” you ask, but he shakes his head immediately.  
“No. You can take care of the kid and the other village children during the fight,” he says. You frown, shoulders slumping, but you nod, and as he leaves, he thanks god that you didn’t argue, because he didn’t have a good excuse for why he didn’t want you to fight.  
Maybe because you getting hurt would break his heart.  
~~~oOo~~~  
You stay a couple of days after the fight. You’re so tired, and the Mandalorian is so tired, and the baby fits right in. You stay by the Mandalorian most of the time, terrified to be anywhere else. The people are nice, though. The kids like you, and you and Cara have become quick friends, too. The Mandalorian seems to be just as invested in not leaving your side as you are in not leaving his, and as you slowly try to make him open up to you, he slowly does.  
“So,” you say to him as you and him sit, watching the kid, and he turns to look at you. “You still haven’t told me how you have the kid.”  
“I told you it’s a long story.”  
You groan. “That’s not an explanation. Besides, I have time.”  
He sighs, and then says, “I’m a bounty hunter.”  
You freeze, a little shocked. “Oh.” How on earth didn’t you put that together before? Now it seems so obvious, the guns, the ship, the armor. It’s right out of a movie, but you guess you just assumed that all spacemen have blasters and weapons. “Are you human? Under the armor?”  
A beat.  
“Yes.”  
“And the child? He’s the bounty?”  
Another beat. “Yes.”  
You shake your head. “Oh my god. He’s just a kid.”  
The Mandalorian won’t look at you, and you run your hands through your hair, putting your elbows on your knees. You close your eyes, trying to make the horrible thoughts disappear.  
“I turned him over.” You look up at him, then, waiting for him to continue. “And then I didn’t.”  
“You’re on the run,” you say, your mouth falling open, looking over the Mandalorian’s shoulder to the child. He nods. “Oh my god.”  
He looks about ready to say something, but you hear a shot from across the village, and the Mandalorian jumps from his seat, and you look for sight of the child.  
“It’s Cara, they found us,” the Mandalorian says, storming off. You stand, running over and collecting the child into your arms. He grabs onto the fabric of your shirt, and you smile at him. Why would anyone put a bounty on a child? What’s so important about something that can’t even speak? The Mandalorian must know, so you decide to ask him later.  
You grasp his cape as you reach them, and the Mandalorian pauses for just a moment before continuing his spiel about how they have to leave. After a moment, he turns to you, pulling you away from the group by the arm.  
He doesn’t let go of your arm as he talks to you, but his grip is soft.  
“I think you should stay here,” he says.  
“What?” you ask, taking a step back, tearing your arm from him. The child looks up at him, and he looks down at it in your arms before looking back to your face.  
“I’ll go find out what I can about you being here, but with me, you’ll be unsafe. Here, you can live peacefully until I find a way to get you back to your ordinary life.”  
You huff. “I’m not letting you leave me behind. Besides, you can’t take care of the child by yourself, and what if the solution you find is time sensitive and you have to come all the way back here to get me, hm? What then?”  
The Mandalorian pauses, then sighs, then says, “I don’t want you getting hurt. There are enough people who have gotten hurt because of my actions.”  
You put the child on the ground, tighten the straps of your bag, and cross your arms. “I’m not going to get hurt. I’m in more danger left alone by myself than I am in a spaceship with you.” You pick up the child and march away from him, towards the transport.  
The ride is silent. When you get on the ship, it must be hours before you finally say something.  
“So where are we going?” you ask, jumping into the seat next to him.  
He doesn’t answer, which is hella annoying. You sigh, watching as he flies the ship.  
“Cara says you don’t ever take off your helmet. Is that true?” You lean forward, putting your elbows on your knees.  
“Yes,” he says after a pause.  
“Why?”  
A longer pause. “Mandalorians can’t. If we do, we can’t ever put it back on. It’s against our creed.”  
“Oh,” you say. “That makes sense.” The child then pulls on your pant leg, and you help it sit on your lap, letting it play with your fingers.  
The Mandalorian just smiles, and for a moment, just a moment, he almost wishes he could keep you forever, and that he wasn’t about to send you home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sometimes, not even galaxies can keep soulmates apart  
> (i.e., you learn some of the deepest, darkest secrets about the galaxy. and yourself. and the mandalorian...)   
> also on tumblr @vintagecaptainspidey (i post on there first)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi posting this and the first part at the same time hehe dont mind me   
> (comment if ya want ;) )  
> also be warned that this one mentions traumatic childhoods and has like,,, one rude sexual comment

“When we get in, stay with me. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t look at anyone, don’t do or say anything,” the Mandalorian says to you, and you nod, thinking he’s just being overprotective. You hold the child a little tighter as you walk inside, and you look around. The place is crowded, filled with the oddest people… part of you thinks that you only find them odd because they’re from, you know, another planet, but you think that these must be odd, even by galactic standards.   
“Ah, it’s you,” a voice says, and you turn to see a small woman holding out both of her hands in front of you.   
“Mando,” you mutter, reaching to grasp his cape. He nods at you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders to remind you that he’s here, and he’s not going to let anything happen to you. He traveled across the galaxy to help you get home, goddamnit. Home, you begin to think. Could you even consider Earth home? After everything with your mother, and then everything at work, and losing your job, and being evicted. You didn’t even have a home, you just existed. You almost want to grab the Mandalorians arm and run back to the ship, and beg him to take you back to the village planet, beg them to let you stay with them, and just pretend that this is your home.   
But you don’t. Because you can’t ask that of these people. Of the Mandalorian, or of the village people.  
“Maz, good to see you,” the Mandalorian says, breaking you from your thoughts.   
She looks up at him and squints, then smiles. “It’s been forever.”   
“Yes.”   
The woman rolls her eyes, then says, “Follow me.”   
You sit at a small table towards the back of the room, and she waits for one of you to speak. The Mandalorian does.   
“This is Y/n. Y/n, this is Maz.”   
Maz smiles, nodding. “I know you.”   
Your eyes widen and you say, “We’ve only just met, now.” You look over at the Mandalorian, who watches you silently, almost waiting for your reaction, as if he expected Maz to say this.   
“Oh, I know. But I know why you’re here.” She pauses, then looks at the creature in your arms. She shrugs, then says, “You wish to return to your planet.”   
You nod, and the Mandalorian leans forward, talking quietly. “Maz, have you ever been to her planet? Earth, you said, yeah?”   
“Unfortunately, no. There is no way to return to that planet now that she’s been brought. Once a millenium do the doors between galaxies open and send through souls born separated.”   
Your jaw drops, and the Mandalorian stiffens. “So I can’t go home?”   
Maz squints her eyes at you. “That is not what I said.”   
“You said she can’t return to her planet, Maz,” the Mandalorian says. Then, Maz stands, gesturing for you to follow her. Hesitantly, you both do. She leads you down a staircase and to a large and empty room.   
“There are forces in the Universe that many do not understand,” she says, and the light drains from the room. You gasp, reaching for the Mandalorian, but you can’t find him. A bright white light appears in front of you and you gasp as it dances around your head. “There are forces in each section of the universe.” A large hologram of planets appears, and the light fills the space between them. Across the room, a red light surrounds a different group of planets. “Sometimes, a soul born to a force is in the wrong galaxy.” The planets disappear, leaving just the lights. A bit of white light appears in the red, and you move towards it, but as you do, the red violently attacks the white light. You gasp, stepping back at the sudden action. “These souls belong in the other galaxy, and the Universe will send them to find their force.”   
You back away. “You mean I was born in the wrong galaxy? What exactly are these forces?”   
The darkness seeps away and you turn and see the Mandalorian. You run to him, grabbing his cloak.   
“Forces connect all of us, all living things. Sometimes, these forces bind souls together. You, my dear, are a bound soul. You’ve been brought here to to find them, to find your true home.”   
You scoff. “So you’re saying I’m here to meet my soulmate?” You almost laugh at the idea. “That’s ridiculous, soulmates aren’t real.”   
Maz shrugs. “Maybe not in your world.”   
You groan, running your hands through your hair. “Fuck. Fuck!”   
“There has to be a way she can get home. I’ll take her there myself, I just need to know where it is,” the Mandalorian says dryly, and Maz sighs.   
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. The galaxies… the forces won’t allow you to leave them, once you’ve found where your force is. You can’t leave.”   
You think you’re going to pass out.   
The Mandalorian senses this, apparently, because he grabs your arm to steady you.   
“This is bad, this is so bad!” you yell. “I… I mean, it’s not like there’s anything waiting for me back on Earth, but I don’t have anywhere to go! What am I going to do?”  
Maz is quiet, and the entire room is silent for a moment as you begin to pace, because you’re doomed.   
“You… you could stay with me. I could always use an extra hand around this ship. Until you find somewhere more permanent, of course,” the Mandalorian says, and you look to him your mouth open, but no words coming out.   
“I don’t want to intrude-”   
“It’s no trouble, really.”   
You nod. “Thank you.”   
The Mandalorian nods at you.   
You turn to Maz. You take a breath.“Thank you.” A pause. “For the information. It’s better to have bad news than to be without any knowledge whatsoever.” Maz smiles warmly at you, then walks you and the Mandalorian to the exit.   
“Visit soon!” she calls, and you nod to her.   
Once you’re outside, you begin walking towards where the Mandalorian landed the ship. The journey is silent, and you begin to think.   
“I’m sorry,” you say to him. “If I’m ever too much just, tell me. You don’t have to keep me around, and I’d hate to make your life difficult.”   
“Hey,” he says, stopping. “Don’t worry about it, okay? You aren’t going to make my life difficult. The past two weeks have been nice, I like your company.” He pauses, then says, “In fact, I would have been sad to see you go.” You smile, nodding, and he pats your shoulder as he walks ahead of you.   
So, this is your life now. Living with a strange man and a baby, in a spaceship. You try not to think about how bad that is for your body, but then again, in this galaxy, space travel is normal, so the ships probably account for that. The air on every planet he’s brought you to has been breathable, at least.   
You hear a crack in the woods behind you and jump, and the Mandalorian pushes you behind him.   
A shot nearly misses your head and the Mandalorian pushes the child into your arms, saying, “Run!”   
You push off, running as fast as you can towards the ship. The Mandalorian is quick on your heel, firing a few shots off into the distance. As soon as you’re in the ship, he’s taking off. You sit in the seat next to him, holding the child tightly in your arms.   
You close your eyes when the ship rattles and you realize you’re being shot at. In space.   
On one hand, you’re about to die. On the other hand, if little you saw you right now, god, she’d be so excited. You’re in space! On an adventure!   
You try to remind yourself that that’s all this is. Just a little adventure.   
The ship gets quiet, and the Mandalorian puts his hand on your shoulder.   
“Are you alright?” he asks softly, and you nod.   
“Just shaken up, I guess.”   
He stays quiet for a moment, watching you, before he says, “Maybe you should go back to Sorgan. With Cara, and stay in that village.”   
You freeze, unsure as to why he would suggest that, but then you realize he’s probably trying to get rid of you, politely. “Oh. I mean, if you think that’s best,” you say.   
He sighs. “Life on the run, life out doing… what I do. It isn’t great. But if you’re okay with that, then please, stay here. I could use your help. But if you want out, tell me.”   
You pause. Do you want out? You trust the Mandalorian, and you aren’t sure why. Besides, even if you do settle down… you want to see that galaxy. If you’re in space, you might as well make the best of it.   
“I’m staying.”   
~~~oOo~~~  
“Oh, my god,” you mutter as the city comes into view. Coruscant, is what the Mandalorian called the planet. The city… skyscrapers, flying cars… it was every futuristic movie ever, but… more unreal.   
“We might be able to blend in more here, and the comm system on the ship is down. We need credits, so I’m going to see if I can get a job,” he says. When you land, you’re ever so anxious to get off the ship. You bounce on your toes by the ramp, waiting for the Mandalorian to set you free.   
“Put this on,” he says, passing you a cloak. You nod, remembering that, although the bag that was with you had some clothes in it, but you’ll look like an alien if you wear Earth clothes. Well, technically, you’re surrounded by aliens… but still. He passes you the child and you put him on your hip, holding him firmly but gently.   
Once you’re in the city, you think you’re going to melt. Every nerve in your body is buzzing, energy moving through you with every step you take. It’s almost like being high, but it’s just the people, the city, the movement… you almost want to squeal.   
“I’m guessing there aren’t cities like this where you’re from?” the Mandalorian asks you, and you shake your head.   
“No. I mean, on Earth there are big cities. Skyscrapers, bridges, ferris wheels, the like, but there’s nothing quite so… colorful.” You sigh, continuing to glance around. “We don’t have flying cars.”   
He pulls you into a building, and you almost gasp at the architecture. You ignore what he says to a man at a desk, and stare at the art on the walls as he pulls you up a set of stairs.   
“You good?” he asks. You nod.   
“Where are we going?” you ask him.   
The Mandalorian laughs quietly. “You don’t have hotels on Earth?”  
You frown, letting out a soft, “Oh.”   
“I’m sure you’re tired.”   
Out of nowhere, you yawn, and you suddenly feel the ache in your joints. “Now that you mention it, yeah.”   
He laughs again, stopping and opening a door. He lets you in first, looking around the hallway before shutting and locking it behind him. You set the child on the ground and drop your bag onto a chair.   
“So, you never did tell me your story,” you say, sitting on the floor by the large window that gave you an excellent view of the city.   
“Yes I did,” the Mandalorian says. You shake your head, giggling.   
“No, silly. I know that you’re a Mandalorian, and that you don’t take your armor off in front of other lifeforms, and that you’re on the run, but I don’t know about you, or your family.”   
He sighs. “Well, the Mandalorians are my family. They found me as a child and raised me as their own.”   
“You’re an orphan?”   
He doesn’t say anything, but sits beside you on the ground. The child crawls into your lap, and he falls asleep almost instantly.   
“Do you remember your parents?” you ask slowly.   
He nods, slightly. After a time, he says, “Yes.” It comes out broken, and you place a hand on his shoulder, above the armor. It’s cool to the touch.   
“Sorry, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”   
He shakes his head, hyper-aware of the fact that you’re touching him. “No, you aren’t. It’s not your fault. I… I remember my mother, and my father. After they… after they died, the Mandalorians saved me.”   
You’re silent for a second. “How did they die?” you ask, almost whispering.   
“Droids attacked our village,” he replies. Your hand finds the gap between the pieces of armor on his arms, and you leave it there, remembering hearing something about physical contact being beneficial to sad people.   
“I’m sorry,” you say to him.   
“It was a long time ago,” he says.  
“That doesn’t make it easier.”   
He looks to you expectantly, waiting for you to continue. You flush, looking away from him and pulling away your hand.   
“What do you mean?” he asks. Then, “What about your family? You said you didn’t have any, that they won’t be waiting for you on Earth.”   
You shrug. “I don’t. I mean, of course I had family. My mom, well she had me when she was a teenager, I guess. Never knew my dad, and mom hated me. She was a good student, before she met my father, I guess. Then she started sneaking out, and I guess things got carried away because then there was me. She took out a lot of her anger at my father on me. Anger for getting her pregnant, then abandoning us, you know. She raised me, and I’m alive, so that’s good, I guess.”  
He’s silent, then he puts his hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he says.   
You huff, saying, “It was a long time ago.”   
He laughs, and you smile a little, setting your head against his shoulder, and the armor isn’t as uncomfortable as you would think. He slips his arm around you loosely, and you kind of laugh at the fact that, over the past two weeks, you’ve already formed a sort of makeshift family.   
You let your mind wander to what Maz said. Soulmates don’t exist, you try to remind yourself. But what if they do? Are you supposed to find yours? You’d have to search the entire galaxy for that… is it worth it? You decide it’s not, and you also decide that you very much need sleep.   
“I’m going to comm my friend, you should sleep,” he says, and you sit up straight, nodding.   
“Okay,” you say, watching as he walks off. When he’s gone, you lie, facing the window, on the ground, holding the child in your arms. Sleep catches you quickly, and by surprise.   
~~~oOo~~~  
You open your eyes and find yourself in a field of flowers. The sun’s setting, and the sky is red, and in the distance you see a man walking towards you. You gasp, standing too quickly, and nearly fall over.   
You don’t recognize the man, but before he gets closer, he disappears, and you’re back in the hotel room, facing the window, but now there’s a blanket thrown over you and the child is pulling at your hair. You shake your head, trying to forget the strange dream.   
“Hi, little one,” you say, sitting up and holding him up.   
“I think I got a job,” the Mandalorian says behind you, and you jump, turning toward him. “We’ll spend the next few days here then head off there.”   
You nod. “Okay.” You pause, then, “Am I going to be an inconvenience?”   
He shakes his head immediately. “It’ll be fine.” You nod, still unsure, but then he says, “Walk with me?”   
You smile, picking yourself up off the ground and setting down the child, who trails behind you slowly as you cross the room.   
“Stay here,” the Mandalorian says firmly to the child. He picks him up and sets him in a seemingly makeshift bed, and the child, despite having slept with you for however many hours, goes right to bed.   
You follow the Mandalorian out of the building and into the busy streets. He pulls you along until you’re out of the crowd and following a sort of trail.   
“Where are we going? How’d we get out of the city so quickly?” you muse, and he just laughs softly.   
“I know this city like the back of my hand. Had a bounty go really wrong once,” he says, almost laughing at the memory. “And, you’ll see.”   
You grin, and the Mandalorian pulls you off the path and into a wooded area. Before you, there’s a pond, surrounded and hidden by the trees. The water is practically silver, and it sparkles, and flowers of every color grow around it. You almost expect to see fairies.   
“Oh, my god,” you whisper, smiling. “This is so pretty! It’s something right out of a fantasy novel,” you say, looking back at the Mandalorian. You’re sure he’s smiling. You can’t see his face, but you can imagine him smiling.   
“I figured you’d like it,” he says. Then, above the trees, you start to see a little glimmer of light, and realize the planet’s sun must be rising. There’s a large rock near the pond, so you take a seat, patting the spot next to you and waiting for the Mandalorian to join you. He does, and it’s quiet as the sun rises.   
~~~oOo~~~  
“I thought you said he was your friend, these people don’t seem like your friends,” you say.   
“It… it’s complicated,” he says. You cross your arms, looking to the table where the crew was gathered, waiting for you to let Mando get back to them.   
“Complicated? Is that why you tried to hide me?” you say, venom laced in your tone. You did not like these people, nor the looks they were giving you. The woman looked like she wanted to eat you alive.   
“Look, you’re just going to have to trust me, okay?” he asks, and you sigh, nodding slightly, looking at the ground.   
The group discusses their plan, and the entire time, you have an uneasy feeling in your stomach. Maybe it’s the way the woman glares at you, or the way the human man says Mando’s name with such venom, but you know that they’re bad news. You begin to spiral, realizing that these are the people Mando associates with. He doesn’t particularly seem to like them, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t more people like them that you’ll have to meet. The high you felt just a few days ago in the city fade, and you realize this is what your life will more likely be.   
As a little kid, you wanted to be an astronaut. You weren’t so well off, growing up, and the idea of being able to escape the world that was so cruel to you was wonderful. And you suppose, now, that after the initial shock, that’s where your mind went. You were here and you could be free, but now the fear’s setting in. This is not what your life was supposed to be, not at all.   
“Hey, you good?” Mando whispers softly to you, pulling you from the group. You nod, and he says, “Okay. You’ll stay here while we go, okay?”   
Your eyes widen and you shake your head wildly. “No, wait, you can’t leave me here! I’ll stay in the back of the ship, I’ll be out of the way, I promise!”   
“Hey, calm down,” he says, putting his hand on your shoulder. “It’ll be okay, I won’t be away long.”   
“Please, Mando,” you whisper, and he just sighs.   
“It’s too dangerous to take you with.” After a beat, he sighs, looking away from you. “It’s probably equally dangerous to leave you here. Just, please promise me you’ll stay away from the others,” he whispers. You nod.   
“I’ll stay out of your way, I promise.”   
“No,” he says, “it’s not about you staying out of the way. These people… are cruel and dangerous, and I want you to stay safe.”   
“Oh.”   
He walks away, patting your shoulder, and you bound after him and onto the ship, crossing your arms. You sit in the cockpit with him while the droid takes off, and you wonder why he doesn’t trust it. You elect to ask him about it later. He watches the droid so intensely, and you sigh. The droid tells him and you to go join the others, and Mando does. You wonder if you should go and follow him, and after a moment, you do. You regret it of course, because they’re all fighting.   
“So, Mando,” the purple woman snarls, her eyes locked on you, “tell me about the girl.” She steps towards you, and Mando steps in front of you.   
“She seems far off,” the man that looks like a devil says.   
“What is she wearing?” the woman says, grabbing your arm.   
You pull away and the Mandalorian yells, “Enough!” The room falls silent, but the human man laughs.   
“Wow, imagine that. Our Mandalorian friend here has a girlfriend. Mind telling us how that works?”   
The purple woman tilts her head at Mando’s lack of words, then says, “How do you figure that?”   
Rolling his eyes like it’s obvious, he says, “You’ve never been in love, but if you had, you would’ve noticed by now that he’s different around her.”   
You don’t like the way they talk about you and Mando like you aren’t in the room, but you stay silent.   
The woman pouts, crossing to the man. “And how would you know a damn thing about being in love?” Every movement she makes makes you cringe.   
“I know things,” he says, leaning back in his seat. He’s the only one sitting, and when the ship turns quickly, just for a moment, you wish you were sitting to. You would go flying across the room if Mando didn’t grab you by the waist and hold you against him.   
“I agree, though,” the woman says, then. “He’s clearly changed,” she muses, tilting her head, stepping up to him, pressing herself flush against him. Mando stands rigidly and doesn’t look at her, but doesn’t move.   
You try not to react, you do. Because you aren’t his girlfriend. You’ve only known him a month, maybe two, goddamnit. The only reason you’re with him is because he’s nice and offered you a place to stay. Well, and maybe you would like him, under different circumstances. But you don’t have any time for crushes. Not at the moment.   
“Xi’an, stop throwing yourself at him,” the devil-looking one says. She turns to him, them, strutting over. You grasp onto the Mandalorian’s cloak, and he rubs your arm, sensing that you’re very uncomfortable.   
Things calm down, slightly, and the woman begins to ask less mean questions, like what planet you were from and how long you’ve been with the Mandalorian. That is, until the child is discovered.   
“What the fuck is that thing? A pet?” the human asks. You try to take it from him, and he laughs. “You two couldn’t possibly have made this, could you?”   
You wince and Mando tenses, but neither of you say anything, which just leads him to laugh harder. Xi’an hisses, crossing her arms, and you take the baby from the man.   
“Back off,” you say, and it’s the first time they’ve heard you speak, and they’re all shocked.   
“So it is yours? Is that why you keep her around, Mando, eh? Feel bad for impregnating this pretty young thing?” the man says, pushing a strand of your hair behind your ear.   
You jerk back, into the Mandalorian, and he says, “It’s not ours. It’s best not to interfere in matters that are so beyond you.”   
He doesn’t have time to respond, because the droid is alerting the group that you’re there.   
“This won’t talk long, I promise. I’m really sorry about all this,” Mando says, and you nod.   
“It’s okay. I’m okay.” He hands the child off to you, and you take it. They all head off, and you sit in the corner and set the child on the floor, pulling your knees to your chest, trying not to cry.   
~~~oOo~~~  
“Where are the others?” you say. Mando shakes his head, and a purple man like Xi’an joins him.   
“Ah, Mando, picked up this pretty young thing, have we?” the man says. “And I thought you were with my sister.” He laughs, then, and you shudder. You don’t get back to the base fast enough. You waste no time getting out of there. When the place gets blown up, you feel no sympathy for them.   
“Those people are toxic,” you say harshly, sitting beside the Mandalorian in the cockpit. “I can’t believe they used to be your friends.”   
Mando just shrugs.   
“Were you truly with that woman? Xi’an?” you ask, and you don’t receive an answer. Not for a time, anyway.   
It’s a forever of silence. “No. We were never… together.”   
You nod. “Not that I care.” It comes out colder than you mean it to, and you wonder why it’s not true. Why do you care?   
The Mandalorian lands on a small forest planet. “We’ll stay here for a few days to rest and recharge.”   
You somehow find yourself laying on the roof of the ship, staring at the stars. The sky is a deep dark blue and the stars are so bright, and you can see the whole galaxy, you think. You pull your phone out of your pocket. You found a way to connect it to the ship so that you could charge it, and you would be forever grateful for that. You go through your music and discover a song that Jane, your old best friend, had always made your listen to. You play it, closing your eyes as you hear the familiar lyrics.   
Mando finds himself beside you, listening to the song you play.   
“What is this?” he asks.   
“Starman. David Bowie,” you say, sort of laughing at the irony, because the man beside you is a starman. “This was Jane’s favorite song.”   
He’s quiet, just his breathing. “What happened to her? Why isn’t she waiting back on your planet?”   
You sigh. “She died. When we were teens. Cancer, or something.”   
“Oh.” A beat. “I’m sorry.”   
“It’s not your fault.”   
You sit in silence with him for awhile, before you say, “Have you ever been in love?”   
He takes a shaky breath. “There are so many times that I’ve been in long term living conditions with someone, and so many times that I could have sworn I was in love. But, if I’m honest, I don’t know. I don’t know if I can say I’ve been in love.”   
You nod, reaching to his hand and threading your fingers through his.   
“Have you? Been in love, that is.”   
You laugh, looking over to him. “Have I been in love?” You sigh, looking back to the sky. “Sure, I guess. As a child I never felt connected to anyone besides Jane. She was the only human I ever felt connected to until she died. I loved her. Not in the way we’re talking, but I did. After that, I didn’t love anyone. Then, after college, I swore I was in love with the postman at work. He was young and beautiful and so sweet.”   
Mando huffs a laugh. “And were you?”   
“No,” you say thoughtfully. “I was in love with the idea of him. So, actually, no. I’ve never been in love.”   
He hums, nodding. “Have you ever kissed anyone?”   
You smile, shrugging. “Yes. Have you?” He laughs, and you roll your eyes. “There are ways. Ever heard of a blindfold?”   
“No, I’ve never kissed anyone.”   
“Favorite color?”   
He’s damn glad you can’t see his face, because the smile on his face is unreal.   
“I like that green blue color that the water is on some planets.”   
You giggle, turning onto your side to face him, resting on your elbow. “I love that for you.”   
He laughs, turning his head to face see you. “What’s yours?”   
You spend the rest of the night asking each other questions, diving into each other’s lives, and somehow, it’s like you’ve known him forever. No question was too personal or shallow, and nothing was off limits. You only leave the roof when you hear the child moving around inside, and you feel a sense of security with Mando. It’s strange but… you like it. You like him, you like being with him.   
You don’t want to say that you’ve fallen for this starman… but maybe you have. And, although you don’t know it, maybe this starman has fallen for you.


End file.
